In the field of cable carriers, especially long travel cable carriers, there is a need to provide support and guidance to the cable carrier to ensure consistent movement of the cable carrier. Cable carriers, also known as drag chains, energy chains, or cable chains, are guides that surround and guide flexible cables and/or hoses that are connected to moving parts of a larger machine. Cable carriers reduce wear and stress on the flexible cables and hoses, prevent entanglement, and improve operator safety by bundling multiple cables together.
Typical cable carriers have a rectangular cross section, inside of which the cables travel, and include a plurality of sections that are rotatably attached to each other to form a length of cable carrier. More or fewer sections may be included in the cable carrier to accommodate cables of any length. Cable carriers come in a wide variety of sizes, depending on the application and number of cables carried by the carrier.
The primary benefit of using a cable carrier is to keep cables organized, separated, and protected in applications where the cable must move relative to the machinery to which it is attached. Some common non-exhaustive examples of where cable carriers are used are automated car washes, elevators, cranes, vending machines, and machine tools. A cable carrier can be used to guide and protect cables in any machine that has a movable part connected to a power source and/or control board.
In applications where the cable carrier travels a long horizontal distance, it may be necessary to support the cable carrier with a cable carrier guide to prevent damage to the cable carrier and to ensure efficient, low friction operation of the cable carrier. In particular, if the cable carrier travels a long horizontal distance and has a lower anchor point and an upper section that moves in relation to the lower anchor point, gravity causes the upper section to droop, and if the distance is long enough the upper section may droop so far that it contacts the lower section.
Existing solutions to this problem have included a plurality of guideposts with rollers that rotate between a resting position and an engaged position. When the rollers are in the resting position, the cable carrier can be supported by the rollers. However, when the cable carrier passes the guidepost, it engages the roller such that it rotates out of the way of the cable carrier. Such existing solutions are somewhat effective, but the rotational movement of the roller sometimes results in jamming or ineffective support of the cable carrier guide, particularly if the roller does not rotate from the engaged position to the resting position quickly enough. Furthermore, the rotational mechanism is complex and the manufacturing of the mechanism is expensive and maintenance can be difficult.
As such, there is a need for a modular, low friction guide that supports the upper section of the cable guide, but is low cost, easy to assemble, and eliminates the rotational movement of the roller.